He does tend to be a little inconsistent in what he says about himself in interviews … or am I imagining that? And yes … fascinating. I find him very interesting at the moment … more than I usually do.

no, you’re not. But a person can change. At the same time, I think it’s hard to judge from interviews where quotes are sort of snipped to fit a picture. I can totally believe that a particular kind of behavior in public serves as a defense mechanism for him. I just think it’s interesting that he would admit it so baldly.

This is really fascinating- I wish this were in video form, to see his nonverbal. A number of things remain up to interpretation, don’t they – perhaps as he wants. The Armitage mystique, alive and well.

He is in a different season and mood, undoubtedly, doing this particular work in London vs. all the time spent with film work / publicity hither and yon. You see yourself differently, as well as those around you.

Interesting also in regard to this interview, that several tweets have commented on how big he is, including in relation to the stage. This is definitely the smallest stage he’s been on in a while (or possibly ever?), the way it’s configured.

One thing that was interesting about the Hobbit press blitz was that he was really months away from Thorin both times he did that — on the order of four to five months. He would done done ADR in the interval but he wasn’t playing Thorin physically, etc. So the fact that he seemed nothing like Thorin in the interviews wasn’t surprising. I actually don’t think Armitage is all that much like Proctor, but that (as he said) he’s mining some pieces of himself (and I’m guessing, magnifying them) in order to fit into this role. That would lead to a fair amount of blurring.

Yep, Thorin and Proctor both huge personalities, but Thorin necessarily dilute over the longer period of time…. Proctor is going to be highly concentrated for this “season” as it were. Interesting to consider that Proctor will be “over” (but perhaps not really, for him) before Thorin actually is.

I kind of ‘agree’ with you. The whole interview has a certain taste to me, I cannot wrap my mind around it yet. It sounds so über-masculine, über-confident (?), yet his demeanour in his tv interviews have spoken an other language sometimes. It also seems like there are two different persons right now… I agree with SH, a video of this interview would be interesting.

Yes- it’s almost as if there was a distinctive “something” with this interviewer. I can’t put my finger on it, but that in conjunction with being immersed in Proctor brought forth something really fascinating from him.
Miss E, I like your “über-masculine, über-confident” – I almost wanted to say aggressive or even “belligerent” but that’s a tad too strong… UNLESS video backed it up! Only 1 time, maybe an early Hobbit panel, have I ever picked up a similar “push-back” kind of vibe.

In the interview, there’s a quote from the director talking about the “masculinity of the men” that she’s addressing. I wonder if that plays into his interview persona, if he’s absorbed some of that characterization.

Antigone- (not sure where this reply will end up.) Yes, I agree that he’s thick in Proctor’s persona, and it undoubtedly has some effect. Wish (for the umpteenth time) that I could see this thing to have an idea how Farber’s vision really plays out (but forget about that 🙂

SH, I don’t know if it’s aggressive or beligerent …. for some kind of reasons – and to be very honest – the more I think about the interview, the more it upsets me, and I don’t know why. There is a feeling I cannot shake off, and I, too, cannot point my finger on it. But we may not forget that this interview took place right after a rehearsal – if the pictures are from the same date, then maybe it was on Saturday? He must had been full of adrenaline, too, full of emotions, PLUS the first night. Plus Proctor… gives maybe a ‘wrong’ taste.

May I ask which TH video you speak of? I’d like to watch it and see what you see.

Miss E- I think this is it…(I’m actually shocked I was able to find it.)
I think I watched most of the longer one it’s edited from … and have a few thoughts, having watched again.
First, his voice definitely sounds like he is under the weather or congested…. which would be a factor. The slight archness is in the first half of the video…. I understand from things I’ve read later that he may have had “something to prove” when first chosen to play Thorin (way before my time). This is the link:

If anyone else doesn’t agree, I can understand, it’s pretty subtle (and possibly just me)…. or again, possibly reflecting something back from the questioner.

Just what I needed — a direct connection. Interesting article. I admire the way he handled several of these questions…especially the one about the rumors. It’s odd that people automatically think you’re “hiding” something just because you don’t share personal information. I was raised to believe you don’t go around talking about personal stuff — especially your sexuality. Doesn’t matter whether you’re heterosexual, homosexual, asexual or whatever — — it’s about setting and respecting boundaries. Also found it interesting how he said it takes away from the focus of the art if you pay attention to the chatter.
Re contradicitons: IMHO, all people have contradictions….nothing is black or white.

That bit about measuring his behavior to offset physical presence strikes me as very consistent with guys of his stature…they either take total advantage of it to intimidate or they are aware of the intimidation potential and tend to be soft spoken and gentle to offset it. It is quite interesting that he says it so plainly…although this isn’t the first time he’s referenced his “frightening guy” potential.

I believe that I’ve finally learned to start taking what he says in interviews with a grain of salt…not that he tells untruths, but that differs from interview to interview and different parts of the whole take center stage

You make great points…. he mentioned keying off the interviewer’s personality when he did the Anglophile C interview, and that would make a difference.
When has he talked about being frightening before? As in “dark and malevolent” at the Sydney Q&A?

I’ve seen and heard enough actors interviews to know that their new role, whatever it is, is always one from their favourite book/play/whatever and that’s why they’re so excited/fulfilled/destined to do it. And when they go to their next role, they say the same of that one.That’s just part of an actors’ psyche, preparing for that next role, pulling out whatever they need from their training and themselves to do it.

Thanks, Serv, for passing this on. Very interesting. He certainly sounds focused ,confident and serious. No laughing or joking allowed here. Strictly business. I miss the humor, but I understand that is not where he is, right now. He sounds like a different person than the one who is showing up at the stage door to take sweet photos with well-wishers. He seems to have his scary self under control, there.

Mmmhhhh, that is a fascinating approach to that man called R.A. By all means, a curious interviewer isn’t bad, and bringing up some new questions is always a blessing. It’s a good thing to have somebody who has made his homework, at least to some degree, and mentioning hardly anything about the Hobbit is a good deed! I like this interview quite a lot, as it gives some new answers and as ever leaves me with even more question marks… 🙂

I liked the article. I do believe that he brought the Proctor persona to the interview and that is why it was far more serious than usual and perhaps there was a bit more truth there about who he is. The role is empowering I suppose which we expected. Saying he doesn’t read Facebook, Twitter or see the videos doesn’t really mean that he doesn’t gain something for his ego by knowing about them. I think actors by definition are like split personalities so yes whatever the role of the moment is the best. However he has said many times he wanted to get back to theater. I think he was disillusioned somewhat by the lack of offers here in the U.S. and those he did see all seemed to be limited in scope and full of violence.

This play has a lot of meaning as he pointed out so doing it for him I think is uplifting. He certainly did not talk about wanting to do TV or Movies. The Brits do it all well no matter the medium but the theater gives something to them that you just can’t get in a film.

We’ll see what he says when he has the next project. He may need a break after doing Proctor for months. It has to be a draining role and he seems to be saying that it allows him to be that frightening person whose size and voice can be intimidating.

The theatre/entertainment writer, Baz Bamigboye, who broke the news of RA being in The Crucible, replied to someone who tweeted to ask,(I paraphrase) that the play wouldn’t be transferring to the West End after its The Old Vic run, as RA is booked up solidly after that. But of course Baz would not be saying doing what!

Good interview and a couple great new pictures. Thank You for posting. I also think that we got part John Proctor in this interview, but since RA lets the character become part of him it would be hard not to have that come though.

I still wonder why he can’t see what we see in him. A great actor who does a great job at having us see what character he is playing, not RA playing a dwarf, M-I5 or anything else he has played. I have always watched him and become engrossed in the character, that is what he gives us. OK it also helps that he is rather good looking too and seems to be a nice guy.

My impression is, after reading now a decade of these articles about Armitage, that the interviewer sits down and has a chat with the guy after preparing questions. We also have to keep in mind that it’s entirely possible for Armitage to refuse to answer any questions he doesn’t like or make a joke that will brush them off. Journalist forms a picture of the subject, and keeping in mind that he/she is writing something that’s supposed to be news / publicity, then writes an article that paints that picture and substantiates it from quotes from the conversation. In other words, we see a combination of (a) who Armitage wished to be on that day and (b) how well that performance got through to the writer and (c) how well the writer conveys his own impression.